When little interest was being shown in her three-bedroom north suburban townhouse after several months on the market, one homeowner took matters into her own hands by offering an unusual perk for the home's buyer: a $1,000 tab at the bar across the street.
Homeowner Melanie Gravdal told the Chicago Sun-Times that frustration fueled her idea: offering $1,000 in food and drinks at Grandpa's Place, a bar located across the street from the home she shares with her husband and two children. After the offer went out, showings increased dramatically -- from two or three when the house first went on sale in June to around nine.
"We weren’t getting very much traffic because there was so much competition in the market," Gravdal explained to NBC Chicago over her home, located at 1877 Prairie Street in Glenview, Ill.. "We live in a place where restaurants and bars come within walking distance so we thought this was a way to cross-promote the neighborhood and our homes."
And how does "Grandpa" himself feel about the deal? The bar's long-time general manager Mike Maginot said it was "a topic of conversation," as WLS reports.
"To me, it’s a very unique, creative idea and out of the ordinary. I’ve never heard of doing this," Maginot added.
The home is currently listed at $450,000, already a $25,000 discount off its original asking price, according to NBC Chicago. The three-bedroom, three-bathroom house also includes a fireplace, two-car garage, a private balcony among other features.
Photo by crazybobbles via Flickr.